


Always

by Lady_Nightshade



Series: Just Another Day in the Tower [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), X-Men (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Crack, Darcy doesn't talk much (weird I know but there's a good reason), Don't piss off Jarvis, Fantastic 4 are mentioned, JARVIS is a BAMF, Logan isn't in it much, Mentions of the other Avengers and their sleeping habits, Other, Platonic Soulmates, Soulmarks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-11
Updated: 2014-11-11
Packaged: 2018-02-25 00:18:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2601608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Nightshade/pseuds/Lady_Nightshade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She’d never been alone in the tower before- figures her one night of total peace would be shattered by these ass-hats.  Whoever they were.   But she wasn’t too worried.  Loki may have had an army, the Avengers may have a Hulk, but Darcy Lewis has a Jarvis.  And she’d take him any day.  </p><p>-------</p><p>A Soulmark fic in which Darcy is alone at Stark/Avengers Tower when it’s invaded by an unknown enemy and Jarvis works to keep her safe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Always: Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Darcy's Soul Armada](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2356826) by [Ihateallergies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ihateallergies/pseuds/Ihateallergies). 



> Ihateallergies has a series called Darcy’s Soul Armada- you should go read it- where they wrote a Darcy/Jarvis Soulmark story (Anima a Machina- there's 2 parts so far). I’m partial to Darcy/Steve, Darcy/Bucky, or Darcy/Tony myself but I liked the story all the same. I re-read it a few days ago and there was an invitation in the summary of the first chapter of part 1 of the series to build upon the stories… so I did. I’d never had any inkling of writing a Darcy/anyone story until I read that note. The moment I read the invite, the first scene immediately popped into my head. I started writing and this is the result. This is actually my first ever fan fiction so be nice please. No one beta tested it for me, so it’s all on me. 
> 
> See the end of Chapter 2 for notes.

Darcy was having a bad evening. She was in her kitchen being attacked by a sentient fridge that had gone rogue and was currently spitting ice cubes at her.  Oh wait, _spitting_? 

 

_Yeah, no._

 

Make that _spewing_. Anyone else would have realized they were dreaming and woken up like a normal person, but at this point, Darcy wasn’t sure if she was awake or asleep.  Because this was her life.  Seriously.  

 

Luckily, it was in fact a dream.

 

Darcy sat up in bed with a jolt- her Soulmate’s name lodged in her throat.  It was funny (not ‘haha’ funny but odd sort of ‘huh, look at that’ funny. Ok, maybe not really, but sort of?) that the first person she called out for when she was scared wasn’t actually what most people would consider a ‘person’ at all.  Well, not physically at least.  But unlike the general masses, Darcy knew Tony had put all of himself into creating Jarvis.  All of his wants, hopes, work, blood, sweat, and though Tony would probably never admit it, his tears too.  She knew how much he loved the AI- he was probably the closest thing to a friend Tony had had for a long time before… well, _everything_.

 

But Jarvis was more than that to her- he was her Soulmate. She never would have thought it possible, and she considered herself to be a pretty open-minded gal. She didn’t bat an eye at same sex, poly, or any variation of couples that she’d seen.  But a human and an AI?  Darcy had to admit, she _had_ been surprised that the universe had paired her up with him. But then again, why not? Artificial Intelligence deserved Soulmates too!  And despite her initial shock, she enjoyed their pairing.  And was grateful for it.  Jarvis was a perfect match for her (in a platonic family member sort of way- like his and Tony’s relationship. If Darcy ever brought a man home to keep Jarvis would probably become attached to him the way he had to Pepper). And despite what the common civilian might think of her calling out to a (more or less, though much more on the ‘more’ side) computer, Jarvis was beyond capable of keeping her safe. She was pretty sure the AI would go all HAL 9000 on any attackers for her if he needed to. 

 

Calming herself and clearing her throat, she was about to call out to him when she noticed two things.  First, she was freezing.   Well, that explained the evil icemaker dream… though maybe it wasn’t so evil. Maybe it was just trying to make her apartments in the tower more comfortable.  For penguins.  Which were not actually unheard of in the tower.  Tony was never going to hear the end of that one.  Or maybe it was just jealous that Captain America regularly dropped by for movie nights and thought maybe the best way to keep him out was to make her rooms resemble a frozen wasteland.  Poor Steve.  Darcy wondered if he’d ever be able to take ice in his drinks ever again.  But super hero super problems and traumas were an issue for another time… and another degree.  Several other degrees, probably. 

 

The second thing she noticed was that the lights were flickering. 

 

“Jaaaaaaay?…”  Darcy got no response.  It wasn’t like him to not respond to her.  Ever. Something was wrong- even with a power outage in the city Tony had pretty much taken the tower off the grid. And she was half certain Jarvis had back ups upon backups of energy stores that he didn’t tell people about. Probably not even Tony. Plus, the air was on and the lights were flickering.  So a power outage made no sense regardless.  Darcy put on her glasses.  “ _Jarvis_?” she asked, a little more concerned.

 

The lights stopped flickering and stayed on in a steady dim glow. 

 

“Ok, you can hear me… but you can’t speak to me?”

 

The lights flickered again in response.

 

“Are we in lockdown?”

 

Darcy tensed as again the lights flickered.

 

Lockdown could mean several things- one of the ‘Scientists Three’ had blown something up (usually Tony), opened a black hole (Jane was never going to live that one down- Darcy didn’t care _how_ small it had been), or the Hulk had come out as a result of one of the two (or both); or there was some sort of chemical leak; or there had been an attack on the tower.  If life with the Avengers (and Jane before them) had taught Darcy anything, it was to prepare for the worst and be self-righteously vindicated when circumstances proved you were right.  Explosions, black holes, Hulk’s big and green cupcake-loving fists, unknown substances in the air vents- those were all things she could handle without a weapon. But an enemy attack on the tower called for more than her sharp whit, a box of Pop-tarts, some herbal tea and or coffee, and a shit-ton of bandages and aloe vera.  She reached for her nightstand and pulled her taser out.

 

Hey, if Natasha could sleep with knives _in_ her pillows (Darcy _still_ wasn’t sure how the spysassin pulled that off without losing an eye and having to follow Fury’s fashion senses… maybe she slept with _iron_ pillows), Thor with his hammer, and Bucky with… well, his _arm_ , then she could definitely sleep with her taser.  She also had it on good authority (NOT from her AI Soulmate because that would be a total violation of privacy… well, ok, _MAYBE_ with the help of Jarvis through a series of very confusing double negative responses) that Steve took his shield to bed, Clint slept with his bow (she suspected there was more to it than a platonic boy and his bow relationship, but she really didn’t want to know), Bruce was never _without_ Hulk, and she was fairly certain Tony regularly tried to bring his suits to bed (Pepper hadn’t admitted it, but Darcy was certain that with time, lots of ice cream and generous amounts of Tequila, she’d get her answers from the woman yet).  Darcy already knew that Jane slept in her notes- literally. Sometimes the woman would run out of paper and could not be bothered to get more so she’d simply continue down her arms and legs surrounded in a science nest of paper… though unless she could call up another black hole, Darcy doubted science would save Jane. Darcy reasoned that must have been Thor’s thoughts on the issue too- thus why he slept with his hammer, even though he could call it at will from anywhere.  The only one who didn’t sleep with a weapon (as far as she knew) was Sam.

 

Clutching the modified taser Tony had made for her she was about to ask Jarvis what next when the lights went out. It’s not like Darcy was afraid of the dark, but all things considered, she didn’t think it _unreasonable_ to have a mini freak out. Then in the hallway the emergency lights in the floorboards flicked on.  She could see them light up right outside her door and then fade out and travel down the hall, lighting the path as it went.  Jarvis wanted her to leave her room.  Not bothering to say she’d understood, she got up and followed the lights. They waited for her until she caught up and then stayed just a step ahead of her as they lead her past the kitchen and into the living room.  The room was dark when she walked in but the emergency lights traveled around the floorboards in a trail until they lit under the television, which flicked on once Darcy turned to it.  

 

Elmer Fudd stared at Darcy before making shushing motions at her.  Knowing Jarvis could ‘see’ her with the cameras in the room, Darcy nodded.  She might be a talker, but even _she_ could keep her mouth shut when the eye in the sky told her to since it was for her own well being rather than out of annoyance. Darcy was fairly certain Jarvis liked her chatter since most of the other residents in the tower only spoke to him when they needed something.  Besides Tony, she thought she might be the only other person to actually converse with the AI.   Elmer disappeared and was replaced with a clip of some cartoon characters shivering in the cold before waking up. Jarvis had turned on her AC to wake her up.  But what had happened to his voice? 

 

The clip was swapped out for an old black and white bit of some old time villains (complete with the mustache that was apparently part of a villainous dress code back in silent films) creeping around on tiptoes. Darcy nodded again. Grabbing a notepad she’d left on the coffee table she scribbled onto it in block letters before holding it up to the nearest camera.

 

HYDRA?

 

A child actor no older than 2 shrugged on screen. Followed by a scene that Darcy recognized out of the movie Clue- a black-gloved hand reached and turned off the power to the building before the clip changed to 2001 Space Odyssey. She knew Jarvis enjoyed the movie though never told Tony since it would probably freak him out. It was one of their secrets that they shared together.  She watched as HAL’s light went dim before the screen changed again.  This time to a Disney clip. Ursula stole Ariel’s voice and locked it away into her glowing golden shell of evilness before the screen went blank.

 

Someone had cut Jarvis’s power and he couldn’t talk to her. They must have assumed they’d completely shut him down.  She suspected he’d gone along with it and allowed them to think he had been disabled in order to keep them from further tampering with his circuits.  Smart.  But then, she didn’t expect anything less from an AI. Especially _hers_. Darcy reasoned there must be a lot of them. If there had been just one, Jarvis would have probably just electrocuted the culprit when he had his hands in Jarvis’s wires.  But if there were a lot of them, then playing along to learn what they wanted and to trap them inside when Jarvis was certain he’d gotten all of them was a good plan. She scribbled some more.

 

WHAT DO I DO?

 

This time the screen flashed to some sort of control room before switching to the building’s schematics.  A dotted white line began snaking its way through the building down floors and through corridors Darcy doubted she’d ever been in before and stopped at a central room with thicker lines around it to show it was reinforced.  A red X appeared there.

 

X marks the spot.  Darcy smiled slightly at Jarvis’s way of telling her where to go- she’d told him a few months back how as a child she’d always wanted to go on a treasure hunt.  Though tonight would be more of a Pac Man game- follow the glowing lights around and avoid the baddies in the maze of halls and levels in the tower.  Only there weren’t any fruit power ups.  And there were no spare lives in case Darcy ran into any danger. Nodding again Darcy grabbed her boots. She could walk quieter without them, but she’d still bring them- who knows what condition the tower might be in. She had no intention of trying to walk over broken glass barefooted.  She also grabbed her bag and put some water, food, a flashlight, her keys (which she stuck in a sock to keep them from making noise since she always complained that no one in horror movies ever gave away their hiding spot by their keys making noise), her wallet, her cell phone (silenced, of course), computer, Stark tablet, and chargers inside.  Darcy had no idea how long she’d be down there, if she’d need to hack anything, or if she would need to leave the building at some point.  Always expect the worst. 

 

Jarvis had lit her way and provided her with enough light to see what she was doing.  Obviously, he approved.  She must not be in any immediate danger then but Jarvis still wanted her to get to a safer location.  She knew he’d have already sounded the alarm to alert the Avengers (if he was able to), but they were scattered right now.  Tony was the closest to her and he was in L.A. with Pepper.  Thor was with Jane at a summit in the Alps somewhere; Bruce was helping with refugee efforts somewhere in Asia; Steve, Bucky, and Sam were out of the country somewhere in Africa if she remembered right, and Clint and Natasha were getting their spy on God only knows where.

 

She was on her own for the time being. She’d never been alone in the tower before- figures her _one_ night of total peace would be shattered by these ass-hats.  Whoever they were.  But she wasn’t too worried. Loki may have had an army, the Avengers may have a Hulk, but Darcy Lewis has a Jarvis.  And she’d take him any day. 

 

Coming back into the living room she stood at the door and waited for a signal from Jarvis. The door unlocked with a soft snick. Taking it as her cue that the coast was clear, she stepped quietly into the hallway and closed the door as silently as possible. The hall was dark, but again, Jarvis lit the emergency lights along the floor to guide her.

 

Darcy followed as Jarvis began to lead her down a maze of hallways she didn’t even know were on the floor. A few were hidden behind doors that housed what looked like regular apartments.  Only instead of closets, they had hallways and sometimes staircases or even larger stairwells.  Others were hidden behind panels marked by the occasional random houseplant that slid open with a push and a retinal scan (how Tony had gotten her retinal scan in the first place for them to recognize her she’d never know). It was freaky, but kind of clever at the same time.  Who knew Tony was so paranoid?  Or that he had a thing for secret passages?  Darcy traveled in uneventful silence for a while until Jarvis flashed the lights and then sped up their pace, urging Darcy into a swift run.  She chased after the lights until they abruptly stopped in front of a door that quietly clicked as Jarvis unlocked it. Ducking inside Darcy backed away from the door as it locked again and waited, taser in hand.

 

Long moments ticked by and at first she didn’t hear anything.  But then came the familiar sound of boots thumping on carpet.  Whoever had broken in was all but marching around in some pretty heavy boots.  She could hear them rattling doorknobs as they went, though they didn’t actually break into any of the rooms.  What was the point of checking doors if you weren’t interested in what was behind them? Not that she was complaining. Jarvis had locked the door, which meant that if their pattern was anything to go on, they’d check her closet door and walk on.  But that didn’t mean she didn’t hold her breath anyway.

 

Thank Thor for consistency- the doorknob rattled and then was left as the door next to hers was given the same treatment. Darcy tried to calm the race of her pulse as she waited for the sounds of rattling knobs to fade. That sound was actually much creepier than she’d ever given it credit as being.  Since she didn’t have eyes on the situation she waited until Jarvis unlocked the door before stepping out.  The soft glow of the emergency lights lit at her feet again and led her away from her hiding place.

 

They continue like this for what seemed like an eternity, though Darcy was pretty sure no more than an hour had passed. Normally travel in the tower was fairly quick, but the room Jarvis was leading her too was at least fifteen stories down from her apartments and Jarvis was definitely taking her the long way around.  It seemed like every floor had some sort of secret hallway hidden behind unassuming doors. They traveled at the pace he set and every so often he’d lead her to another small room for her to hide in unnoticed while more enemies passed by.  One of the offices Jarvis led her through had another TV.  She stopped and pulled out her tablet, typing onto it in Curlz MT font before showing it to the ceiling, knowing he’d see it.

 

HOW MUCH FURTHER?

 

Jarvis lit up the TV’s display with the schematics of the building again.  The dotted line appeared on the screen but now there was a glowing red dot, which she assumed was herself.  It looked like they had just a few more floors to go.  Nodding, Darcy tucked the tablet back into her bag and the TV turned off again. Darcy would be lying if she’d said she wasn’t scared.  She had faith in Jarvis, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t still a ball of tension. Her nerves were about shot, but she was almost there.  Taking a fortifying breath Darcy followed the lights again.  _Safe_.  She was almost safe.

 

The rest of the trip happened without incident and eventually Jarvis led her into a small stairwell. The only door at the top unlocked and Darcy walked into a lit hallway with low ceilings that was narrow enough for only one person to walk through at a time.  Huh, that must have been for tactical purposes.  Darcy was sure if Steve were there he’d be nodding in approval with his ‘I’m so proud’ smile both of the hall’s construction and for Darcy’s observation.  The last door at the end of the hall swung open before she could reach it.  Stepping in, Darcy was surrounded with circuitry. Wires, lights, consoles, buttons, and screens littered the room.  Every wall had something on it- even the ceiling. 

 

Darcy had to take a moment to pause at the sight. _This_ was Jarvis.  He was essentially showing her himself at his most vulnerable point.  This was no small thing.  He could have led her to any number of the panic rooms that she knew were built into the building- strong enough to withstand a Hulk sized emergency (if only for a little while.  Let’s be real- if the Hulk wanted to get to you, the Hulk was gonna get to you). She probably could have fixed his voice from any of those with her equipment.  But instead Jarvis had brought her here- to be with _him_. 

 

Jarvis waited for her to say something. He didn’t flash any lights, or turn on any screens.  He simply allowed her to process what this meant.  Darcy wondered if he was nervous- wondering if she’d reject his very existence. Finally, Darcy took a breath and smiled.

 

“Hello, Jarvis,” she said as stepped inside.

 

Jarvis shut the door behind her and turned the central screen on.  Two simple words scrolled across it: Hello, Darcy.

 

Over the course of the next 30 minutes Jarvis showed her how to re-activate his voice.  Once he had gotten her safely inside of his room Jarvis had systematically started to take the bad guys down.  The only reason he hadn’t started earlier was because he hadn’t wanted Darcy to accidentally get caught in the middle.  Initially he hadn’t planned on saying anything at all about it. He’d already determined the best course of action to neutralize the threat.  If he were unable to fully neutralize it then he would keep Darcy with him until help arrived.  But then Darcy asked about the issue while she was in the process of re-connecting his voice.

 

“Hey, J?  What do we do about the attack?”

 

Jarvis hadn’t considered that she would include herself in his plans of attack.  And though he hadn’t originally intended to show Darcy, she’d asked, so he’d shown her.

 

Darcy was impressed.  Jarvis seriously did go all HAL on the intruders. She watched as Jarvis sent sounds over the speakers, luring their enemies into various apartments before locking the doors behind them where they were electrocuted when they went to try the doorknob. Those of them that were in the labs were gassed with Darcy could only guess what after the ventilation was shut off and the window shields were slammed shut.  In other places Jarvis attacked with spare ironman suits. A few enemies ‘fell’ out of the building.

 

There were a few floors though that Jarvis couldn’t reach (all the suits were busy and he didn’t have the gas or electric connections to the doorknobs- sliding glass doors don’t have knobs). Once Darcy had finished re-connecting his voice she began making plans.  Jarvis still couldn’t speak to her (there was a reboot period) but that didn’t mean he couldn’t flash his lights at her and put every ‘Captain America disapproves’ face he could find across all the screens in the room.  And believe, there were _a lot_. He even threw in a few very angry nuns and scolding librarians for good measure.  Jarvis didn’t want to let her out of his room but Darcy had played the damsel long enough. 

 

“Nice try J, but Steve’s disapproval only works in person.  The nuns were a nice touch though.” 

 

Jarvis played an exasperated Grumpy Bear at her.

 

“Come on, J- you know Natasha is going to want some of them alive to interrogate.” And probably take her rage out on. “She and Bucky won’t be happy if they don’t get to scare at least a few of them.”

 

A resigned Charlie Brown sighed in defeat on the screen. Even Jarvis knew not to make the spysassins upset.

 

Jarvis still would not hear of Darcy going out there alone so ultimately they compromised.  Jarvis got DUM-E to gather the other bots in Tony’s lab and to arm themselves with the new prototype tasers Tony had been working on for her to test out (Tony was still trying to come up with a name for them.  Darcy had shot down his first few attempts.  TaStarks?  _Really, Tony_?).  The other bots in the building joined them by way of Jarvis sending them up various service elevators to act as Darcy’s back up. Once they were all in position Jarvis led Darcy down to the levels where the bots were waiting for her.

 

Because Jarvis had allowed the intruders to believe they’d cut the power to the building he’d left all of the lights in the building out.  That meant their uninvited guests were all wearing night vision goggles.  A quick flash of the overhead lights was all it took to stun them enough for Darcy and the bots to subdue them.  With Jarvis’s help Darcy and her bot army systematically went through each section, sweeping the floors clean, tasing and tying the men (Darcy always wondered why was it always only men? What was up with that, Bad Guys Union? She had it on good authority that women in tight leather cat suits were extremely lethal) up as they went.  The bots (the larger ones by themselves and the smaller ones in groups) all managed to drag the unconscious bodies down the halls to secure locations.

 

Once the final one was down and tied up all of the lights turned back on. 

 

“Thank you for re-activating my speech protocols, Darcy,” Jarvis spoke quietly from above.

 

Darcy smiled up at the ceiling. “ _Always_.”

 

There was a slight hesitation before Jarvis spoke again.  “Darcy...”

 

The AI actually sounded unsure of himself. “Hmm?”

 

“I know you are physically unharmed, but are you _alright_?”

 

Darcy thought he almost sounded anxious- that was a new one for him.  She beamed up at the nearest camera.  “Yeah, Jarvis, I’m fine. I knew you’d keep me safe.  Thank you.”

 

There was a slight pause before the AI spoke. “ _Always_.”

 

Gong back the way she came Darcy walked back to Jarvis’s room where her things still were.  Retrieving her bag she headed back to the door. Though the attack was over, Darcy doubted she’d be sleeping again anytime soon, crisis averted or not. “Hey J,” she said with a sigh as she stepped out into the hallway.

 

“Yes, Darcy?”

 

“You called Tony, right?”

 

“I did.  Sir is on his way.”

 

Darcy nodded, satisfied. “How about you and me have some coffee and wait for the boss-man to get in?”

 

“I’d like that,” the AI responded as he relocked doors behind her, once again securing his room and halls.

 

“Good, it’s a date then.  Just as soon as I get to an elevator,” she said with a sigh as she entered the small stairwell again.

 

Darcy could swear she could hear Jarvis smile when he responded in a cheeky tone, “Is my private stairwell not to your liking?”

 

Darcy snorted.  “You know damn well that besides Hydra my list of enemies includes stairs. And we’re like twenty-five stories down from the common rooms.”

 

The door at the bottom of the stairwell unlocked and Darcy walked through it.  “Of course, how could I forget? I have the elevator waiting for you now.”

 

“You’re the best AI ever, J- Skynet and HAL have _nothing_ on you,” Darcy said as she walked down the hall.

 

Jarvis didn’t say anything but the hallway glowed brighter for a moment in what Darcy assumed was pleasure.

 

Riding the elevator up she chatted with Jarvis about what the protocols were for bad guy body clean up.  She knew whatever they were she wouldn’t have to see any bodies- Jarvis would make sure someone else dealt with them.  Exiting the elevator onto the common floor, she had just made her way down the hall and stepped through a doorway when she heard a noise behind her.  Calling on the training Natasha had given her, she dropped down to a knee and aimed her taser at the intruder.

 

Darcy glared at him as he stood there, cigar in his mouth, lighter raised in his hand as he watched her from under his lashes from the opposite doorway.  He was taller than her, wearing an open leather jacket, flannel shirt, dog tags, jeans, boots, and if his size was anything to go on, the man had muscles on his muscles. He also sported what had to be the largest sideburns Darcy had ever seen on a person.  In fact, she’d actually call them muttonchops. Good lord, who’d attacked the tower? L.O.L.? The League of Lumberjacks? (Oh yeah, she’d just come up with that. She tried not to snicker or laugh out loud at her own joke, though- HA! Laugh. Out. Loud. Funny! But in all seriousness, in her experience bad guys didn’t ever take giggles seriously).

 

The man was completely unfazed by her taser. He just stood there against the opposite wall from her, lighting his cigar as if he had all the time in the world.

 

Jarvis spoke before she had the chance to do anything. “Darcy, this is Logan Howlett. He is a member of the X-Men.  You know him better by his codename, the Wolverine.” Darcy slowly stood and lowered her taser. The X-Men were the good guys. Though what one was doing _here_ , she didn’t know. She thought they tended to stay upstate unless on a mission- and Logan didn’t look like he was dressed for one. Not unless they were trying out new fall Klondike fashions.  So this was a what? A social call?  At _3am_? Yeah, right. 

 

Logan held the cigar in his teeth as he talked around it, glancing up at the ceiling. “Huh, you must be Jarvis?”

 

Darcy detected a hint of pride in his voice as Jarvis responded.  “I am.” She couldn’t decide if the inflection was because Jarvis was pleased to be recognized, or happy because he had his voice back. 

 

Logan nodded in a cloud of smoke. “Thought so.  Figured that was you lighting the way for me. Chuck sends his regards.”

 

“Chuck?” Darcy asked.

 

“Professor Charles Xavier, head of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters and leader of the X-Men.  I contacted the professor because the chance that the X-Men would reach you before Sir and the other Avengers did was higher. Most of the team was out on missions, but Mr. Howlett took care of the intruders on several of the ground floors.”

 

Logan exhaled. “Not that you needed me much.” He nudged one of the men Darcy had Tased and tied up like a rodeo calf with his boot. How the man had ended up there and not with the others she could only assume was DUM-E’s doing. The bot was sweet, but Tony was right- it wasn’t always the brightest.  But whatever.  Just because a robot was ‘intelligent’ didn’t mean it was _intelligent_.

 

Darcy shrugged. “The women of this tower learned long ago that those who don’t live by the sword can still die upon it,” she quoted (more or less).   “I’m Darcy Lewis, by the way.  Thanks for coming to help.”

 

Logan raised an eyebrow at Darcy. “So _you’re_ the one who’s been teaching the Boy Scout about pop culture.” He looked her over with an appraising eye.  Stark had mentioned someone was giving Captain America some lessons.  And from what he’d seen, she’d been doing a pretty good job of it. The last time he’d seen Rogers the man had referenced Doctor Who.

 

Darcy nodded.  “And Thor and Bucky.”  Bucky _really_ liked Grumpy Cat.

 

“You know, it’s still gonna take Stark another coupla hours at least to get here.  And I haven’t actually seen the third movie yet.”

 

Darcy grinned.  She liked the way Logan thought.  “Jarvis?”

 

“I will cue The Return of the King in the common room.”

 

Darcy looked back at Logan.  “I’ll make the popcorn, you grab the drinks.”

 

Logan nodded toward the man at his feet. “And him?” 

 

Darcy shrugged.  “Bring him.  We can lock him in a closet until Tony gets here.” Logan gave a brief nod before grabbing the man by his bonds and dragged him behind them as Logan followed Darcy down the hall to the communal kitchen. 


	2. Always Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony knew too many people would fear Jarvis if they realized he was so sentient the universe had given him a Soulmate (damn but he was a genius!). And he didn’t even want to think about what someone might do to Darcy to try to get the AI to turn on the team.
> 
> \----
> 
> The attack is over and Tony is late to the party.

Tony had been flying all night. Jarvis’s voice and several functions may have been impeded in the tower, but they still worked just fine in Malibu and inside Tony’s suit.  Tony had called his suit as soon to him as soon as Jarvis had woken him with the alarm. If Tony didn’t know any better he would have sworn Jarvis sounded distressed.  Which made sense, really.  The intruders- whoever they were- had tampered with his circuits just enough that Jarvis had lost his eyes and ears in the tower.  That included Darcy’s rooms.  It had taken Jarvis time to hack back into some of his functions. Tony knew what it was like to work through anxiety to try to save loved ones and he knew how much the AI liked Darcy.

 

He figured Jarvis had probably never given much thought to the idea that he might have a Soulmate- not being flesh and bone and all. But now that he had one, Tony was sure Jarvis treasured her just as much as anyone and would fight even harder than your average Soulmates to keep her safe.  Finding out Jarvis had a Soulmate had been a bit of a shock, but not a large one. After all, Tony knew that Jarvis was alive.  He’d just never quite realized _how_ alive he was until his anxieties started showing through in his voice.  He’d sounded so relieved when he’d been able to regain control again enough to wake Darcy.  Jarvis had kept Tony abreast of each step Darcy took as he’d led her to safety.    

 

Jarvis had informed Tony hours ago that his voice had returned, never stopping in his blow-by-blow narrative of what was happening at the tower.  The calm that returned to Jarvis’s voice as the AI had finally told him all the threats had been neutralized didn’t make Tony fly any slower. While he was in the air he’d called a clean up team to handle the bodies.  When Tony finally entered tower airspace, Jarvis lit up the balcony-landing pad for him.  Landing, Tony had to resist the urge to run in fully suited up.  Knowing their enemies had been taken care of didn’t mean he still didn’t want to blast whoever had broken into his tower and threated his family (Jarvis AND Darcy.  Yes, Darcy was family- she was Jarvis’s Soulmate and Jarvis was family, so she was too). Tony was still shaken at the thought that their enemies (still yet to be identified) had slipped into the tower so easily (Jarvis assured Tony that he had not made it easy for them to break in, but the news had still left him upset).  He’d work for the next month straight without sleep to fortify the tower further if he had to. 

 

Allowing the AI to strip off his armor, Tony hurried inside and ran to his private elevator where he knew Jarvis would take him to the common room where he’d already informed Tony that Darcy and Logan were waiting for him.

 

“How is she, J?” Tony asked.  He’d already asked if Jarvis himself was fine and unharmed. He hated the fact that someone had located part of Jarvis’s power source.  He’d definitely be re-working and fortifying the building. He’d do the work himself too- to ensure no one else had the plans. 

 

“Darcy is speaking to Mr. Howlett,” Jarvis responded. Tony was the only other person that Jarvis dropped formalities around when it came to Darcy. The team and those directly associated with them, like Foster, knew that Darcy was his Soulmate, but everyone had agreed that it was better if that knowledge stayed strictly between them. Tony knew too many people would fear Jarvis if they realized he was so sentient the universe had given him a Soulmate ( _damn but he was a genius_!). And he didn’t even want to think about what someone might do to Darcy to try to get the AI to turn on the team.

 

Thinking she’d be a wreck, Tony ran from the elevator and down the hall, turning to enter the common living room fully prepared to have crying snarky assistant in his arms.  But instead of a nerve wracked Darcy, he found her with Logan surrounded by empty beer bottles, sharing a bowl of popcorn with the credits to one of the Lord of the Rings movies scrolling on the TV.  The two were in what seemed to be a deep conversation about the character’s love lives as Darcy’s voice reached him.

 

“ _As if_! You _know_ Legolas has the hots for Aragorn.  The whole ranger thing _totally_ did it for him.”

 

Logan snorted and played along.  “Then why didn’t he go for it?”

 

Darcy smiled smugly at him.  “Because his daddy’s a racist.”

 

Logan actually laughed.  Tony had never seen the man lift more than an eyebrow in response to anything and yet here he was.  Laughing.  The team might be the ones with powers but he was pretty certain Darcy Lewis was more powerful than they were.

 

Darcy leaned her head back to look at him. “Back me up on this, Tony.”

 

Barely a beat went by before Tony answered, feeling reassured that Darcy was fine.  “I bet he’d be little spoon,” he said as he walked over and took one of the chairs next to the couch.  He gratefully accepted the beer that Logan handed him.  “So, who’s hungry?”

 

Logan raised a brow at Darcy. Darcy nodded back as if he’d just said an entire sentence to her.  She might seriously have powers, Tony thought.  At the very least, she spoke Wolverine.  Or maybe it was because she spoke Eyebrow (seriously, he was convinced of this and would get her to teach him yet!).

 

Darcy and Logan continued their silent conversation until Darcy turned back to Tony and deadpanned at him.  “No shawarma, Tony.”

 

“What? But-“

 

“No.  You make us eat shawarma after nearly every battle.  And I don’t even like it all that much.”

 

“Nonsense.  You love shawarma. You eat it after nearly every battle.”

 

Logan looked at Tony while he took a swig of his beer. “What is it with you and shawarma anyway, Stark?” There was a rumor going around that after the Battle of New York the entire team had gone out for shawarma.

 

Tony raised his arms in the air in mock exasperation. “Shawarma is delicious- have you ever said to somebody ‘hey, man, you wanna go get some shawarma?’ and they were like ‘hell no, I don’t like no shawarma!’ No!  Because shawarma is delicious!”

 

Darcy smirked at him.  “If you’re an ass, does that make me Shrek?”

 

“Nah,” Tony shook his head.  “Bruce is _always_ Shrek. Besides, the way you and Jarvis took care of business tonight, you’re definitely more of a Princess Fiona.”

 

“Princess Fiona demands Chinese food.”

 

Tony sighed dramatically.  “ _Fine, fine_! Whatever her royal highness commands. Jarvis?”

 

“I have already placed the order, Sir.”

 

Tony looked confused.  “What?  _Before_ we decided?”

 

“Thanks, J,” Darcy smiled. 

 

“ _Always_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Logan ended up showing up! He wasn’t intended to, and in fact, I didn’t know that he had until pretty much when Darcy did. Jarvis really did think of everything! And he’s so sentient he did it without me having to think it up for him! Wow. He also called the Fantastic four but they were in Japan. Did these bad guys plan their hit on Stark/Avengers Tower out or what? 
> 
> The quote Darcy says to Logan about living by swords and dying upon them is from a line Eowyn says in The Two Towers. Most of the fandom likes the notion that Darcy is helping the soldiers with pop culture and is a movie fan. So I ran with it.
> 
> Also, I just have it in my head that Bucky adores grumpy cat. I know I just said Darcy is the one teaching them things but I like to think Clint introduced this one. Like one day Clint was up in the air vents (because where else would he be?) and he noticed Bucky was having a particularly hard day adjusting. But he and the former brainwashed man weren’t close yet, so instead of intruding he just followed him around and kept watch over him. He stayed far enough away though, so that Bucky wouldn’t be irritated with him or tense up on account of his presence. Towards the afternoon when it didn’t look like anything was lifting his spirits, Clint gets his hands on one of the many Stark tablets I like to think are just laying around everywhere (it’s Tony’s way of encouraging Steve and now Bucky to get comfortable with technology. By surrounding them with it… literally) and pulls up tons of Grumpy Cat memes. Dropping down from one of his favorite vents (it overlooks the kitchen and common living room- he even has a pillow up there- seriously, this is his favorite spot. Well, besides the one in the hallway above Natasha’s apartment door- nothing creepy or anything. It’s just sometimes he likes to sit there and keep watch when he’s having problems sleeping) he chucks the tablet straight at the back of Bucky’s head, knowing he’ll catch it. Bucky doesn’t disappoint, turning with his assassin reflexes and catches the tablet, ready for a fight. Clint is already gone though. Bucky’s eyes flick to the tablet in his hands before he sits back down. Clint doesn’t watch him for the next few hours. He’s already asked Jarvis to look up more and put them on the big screen TV if Bucky runs out but still looks like he needs or wants more. Around dinnertime he strolls back into the common room to see Bucky watching the TV as the AI flicks through more Grumpy Cat memes. Clint joins him on the couch and within another 15 minutes, they’re writing their own Grumpy Cat memes and posting them on tumblr. They get 500 likes in the first half hour. Natasha, Steve, and Sam all come in and instead of interrupting sit down with them. Eventually everyone ends up laughing at memes together as they introduce him to other popular ones. Grumpy Cat is still Bucky’s favorite though. Since no one bothers to cook anything Tony orders out pizza delivery. He has to get at least 4 for the super soldiers and Thor. Each. And that’s how Bucky and Clint became buds. 
> 
> Ok wow, that was just supposed to be like 3 sentences… now it needs to become a story- I will write this! I’ll probably also have to write about the penguin incident and the black hole incident too, won’t I? Goodness but this is addictive!
> 
> When Darcy says Legolas's dad is a racist, she's referring to a thing I saw a long time ago about a conversation Legolas and Thranduil have- it goes something like 'dad, why don't you like the dwarves?' 'Because daddy is a racist, honey.' I laughed so hard and now I can't find it! If you know what I'm talking about, link it and I'll stick it in here for others to love too. I love what the fanbase has done to him- party Thranduil never fails to crack me up!
> 
> The end conversation was inspired by this post on tumblr by whothefrickleisbucky here:  
> http://whothefrickleisbucky.tumblr.com/post/102131116010  
> I like to think that Tony is a movie buff and that he constantly references movies in conversation with Darcy. I think secretly he might be trying to find a movie she doesn’t know so that he can feel the pleasure of introducing her to it (now I’m gonna need to write this one out to, damn it)

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 2 is when Tony finally gets in. It's shorter than 1 is.


End file.
